The damage done by Yasmin Seweids hijab hate hoax

[oberliner]

Baruch College student Yasmin Seweid, we now know, was not herself the victim of a hate crime. She made it all up. But by telling the tale of her attack by men shouting “Trump,” ripping at her hijab, while a trainful of New Yorkers sat silent, she victimized many others.

First on the list: the New York Police Department, which spent precious resources chasing a fabricated assault. Cops tried to track down witnesses — there were none. They reviewed video for clues — there were none.

Next: her fellow New Yorkers, who did not in fact stand idly by while watching a woman be attacked because of her faith. We are not the city of Kitty Genovese; that story of passive witness to horror, so many years ago, was itself a myth. But the image persists that New Yorkers are a can’t-be-bothered-even-if-you’re-in-danger lot. It’s a lie.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/damage-yasmin-seweid-hijab-hate-hoax-article-1.2911776

[LittleBlue]

1. Smelled fishy from the start

I'm to believe that three random dudes just walked up and started manhandling her while chanting "Trump"? While people just stand there and watch, no cell phone video or anything in NYC?


Just another attention seeker. Hope she's charged.

[yeoman6987]

2. 5 years in jail minimum

The reason is the damage she will do to the victims who won't be believed for the next year at least.

[Behind the Aegis]

3. People like this are almost as bad as those who commit hate crimes.

She, and those like her, create a dual problem, one is that people are less likely to believe a minority person who has been victimized and secondly, many minorities are less likely to report because of fear of not being believed and further harassed. Depending on the group, the damage can be even greater; in this case, Muslims are already not believed by those on the right, and the reflexive defense they get from the left will be jeopardized, much in the same way anytime a false report of rape surfaces. Sadly, most people forget these incidents are the exception not the rule.

Just above this category of people, but still below the group of people who commit hate crimes (in terms of odiousness), are those who falsely claim victimization by a minority. I see all three groups as part of the same "machinery" which make the lives of minority people and victims of rape and sexual assault a living nightmare.

Still, I hope most people will realize, as I said earlier, she is an exception, not the rule! We will see increases, already have, of incidents of Islamophobia, and most reports will be real. We will see rises in crimes against other minorities, including ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, and religion, which includes anti-Semitism.

[eissa]

4. People who make false accusations about hate crime and rape

are the absolute worst. They undermine the credibility of every victim, and taint every legitimate accusation with their lies.

[oberliner]

6. Pretty awful

She claims she was afraid she would get in trouble with her parents for being out after curfew.

[HoneyBadger]

7. The boy who cried wolf is one of Aesop's Fables

Learned that one in school a long time ago. I believe that the wolf eventually eats the boy because when he finally does need help, no one does.